If there's one thing Heated Rivalry fans need more than ever, it's season 2. The follow-up season to the worldwide sensation might be one of the most highly anticipated seasons of television in recent memory, and distance is making the heart grow fonder but also restless (if you take one glance around social media). Thankfully, we're learning more details as production quickly approaches.
Heated Rivalry season 2 begins filming later this summer, as recent reports confirmed that Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie will be back on set as Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov by August 10. Unfortunately, we just learned who won't be heading to Canada this summer to join the Game Changers universe, and it's a popular fan-casting we all hoped would happen.
Jack Innanen won't be in Heated Rivalry season 2
It's quite the bummer, but as Entertainment Weekly reports, Jack Innanen won't be taking on a role in Heated Rivalry season 2. The Canadian actor had initially campaigned to join the cast, which fans quickly picked up on and had him pegged as either Troy Barrett or Wyatt Hayes. While promoting his Netflix show Big Mistakes, the actor was asked over and over whether he had been cast.
Well, now we know we he was playing coy in multiple interviews. According to Entertainment Weekly, Innanen received an offer and had conversations about joining the cast in a starring role, but he wasn't able to accept the offer due to scheduling conflicts. For fans hoping to watch him as Troy or Wyatt, it's a huge bummer that his other television role interfered with that exciting prospect.
Innanen stars in a series regular role as Max in the Netflix comedy series Big Mistakes, which was renewed for a second season following its debut in April. If the series hadn't been renewed, the actor would have been free to accept whichever Heated Rivalry role he was offered, but both shows will be filming at the same time this summer, hence the unfortunate scheduling conflicts.
Like Heated Rivalry season 2, Big Mistakes season 2 begins filming in August and wraps sometime in November 2026. The hockey romance is said to finish filming in December. While actors have juggled starring roles in two shows in the past (like Nicola Coughlan in Bridgerton season 3 and Big Mood), the size of his role on both shows likely prevented him from being able to do both.
Not to mention, Heated Rivalry films in multiple locations across Canada, while Big Mistakes is an American production filmed mostly in New Jersey. In the event that Innanen was able to film both at the same time, that would have required quite the headache of travel and, perhaps more pressingly, playing two different characters who also might look completely different at the same time.
Innanen also stars in the FX on Hulu comedy series Adults, which returns for season 2 on Aug. 27, but isn't responsible for the scheduling conflict. The actor had been a popular choice to take on the Role Model co-lead Troy Barrett, a fellow queer hockey player, or the recurring character Wyatt Hayes, a hockey goalie who as an ally and a friend of many of the universe's queer characters.
Now that Innanen's out of the running, the role that creator Jacob Tierney and the rest of the creative team offered him could go to another familiar face or an unknown actor that can turn into a huge star like Williams and Storrie. Either way, fans are still looking forward to the official casting reveals for the long list of new characters set to join the series in season 2. Stay tuned for more updates!
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